Hello, fellow bloggers and enthusiasts! Last month, I shared my intention to publish monthly income reports. This initiative serves as a crucial tool for meticulously tracking the continuous evolution of my blog, not just in terms of financial gains but also in expanding my reach and audience. The practice of documenting these details offers invaluable perspective, which I believe is fundamental for long-term strategic growth and decision-making.

Moreover, a significant portion of my blog’s success can be attributed to the immense generosity and transparency of other bloggers. Their willingness to share their journeys and financial data has provided me with a wealth of knowledge and inspiration. My aim with these reports is to reciprocate that spirit, offering insights and lessons learned along my own path, hopefully empowering others in the online space.

For those deeply immersed in the blogging community, blog income reports are a familiar sight, often serving as benchmarks and motivators. However, if you’re not part of this world or don’t meticulously follow food blogs as I do, you might find it unconventional that I openly disclose my earnings. I understand this might seem a bit unusual. My primary objectives for this transparency are twofold: 1) to genuinely offer guidance, encouragement, and practical strategies to individuals striving to monetize their online presence, and 2) to maintain my own momentum and dedication, continuously seeking new knowledge and opportunities for expansion.

So, let’s dive into the specifics of January’s performance, exploring both audience engagement and financial outcomes.

January 2016 Blog Performance: Traffic & Engagement Insights

Traffic Overview: Reaching for New Milestones

An important observation regarding my blog’s traffic: for several months now, I’ve consistently hovered around the 60,000 unique visitors per month mark. While this is a respectable figure, my current and ambitious goal is to reach 100,000 unique visitors monthly, with an optimistic target of achieving this by summer. This significant leap requires focused effort and strategic adjustments, particularly in content creation and promotion.

To provide a clearer context of my journey and growth trajectory, here’s a brief historical overview of my blog’s traffic, starting from September 2014, which is when I began systematically tracking these metrics:

September 2014: 17,748 visitors (marking exactly one year after the blog’s launch). This initial milestone was a testament to the early foundations laid.
December 2014: 10,085 visitors. This dip likely reflected seasonal variations or specific content performance during the holiday period.
March 2015: 18,041 visitors. A strong recovery, indicating consistent content quality and growing discoverability.
July 2015: 29,368 visitors. Continued upward trend, demonstrating increasing audience engagement during the summer months.
September 2015: 60,182 visitors. A remarkable surge, signifying a breakthrough in traffic generation, likely propelled by successful content going viral or enhanced SEO efforts.
December 2015: 46,820 visitors. Another slight fluctuation, but still maintaining a significantly higher baseline compared to previous years.

Analyzing these numbers helps me understand seasonal patterns, the impact of specific campaigns, and the overall effectiveness of my content strategy. Reaching 100,000 visitors is not just about a number; it represents a larger community, greater influence, and more opportunities for impact.

New vs. Returning Visitors: Cultivating a Loyal Community

One of my most significant strategic goals for the blog currently revolves around cultivating a more dedicated readership – those loyal individuals who consistently return to my site week after week, eager for new content. While attracting new visitors is vital for growth, retaining existing ones builds a strong, engaged community. The fact that approximately 3,632.7 of you make a conscious effort to revisit BBritnell.com each month is profoundly meaningful to me. Frankly, when I first started this journey, I never imagined that so many people would be interested in reading my blog, let alone return regularly. This statistic truly motivates me to continue creating valuable and engaging content.

My ambitious aim is to elevate the percentage of returning visitors to a steady 30%. Achieving this benchmark would indicate not only that my content resonates deeply with my audience but also that I am successfully fostering a sense of community and reliability around my brand. Strategies for achieving this include consistent high-quality content, fostering interaction through comments and social media, optimizing user experience, and building an active email list to keep readers informed and engaged.

Top Ten Traffic Sources: The Power of Organic Search and Strategic Platforms

A crucial insight from analyzing my traffic sources reveals a significant shift: while Pinterest was historically my leading source of traffic, Google search traffic has now taken the top spot. This development fills me with immense satisfaction, as it directly reflects the diligent effort I’ve invested in enhancing the Search Engine Optimization (SEO) of all my blog posts. The sustained focus on keyword research, on-page optimization, and improving overall site structure is clearly yielding substantial dividends.

One of the most valuable lessons I’ve gleaned from this shift is the profound intent behind Google searches. Users arriving from Google are actively seeking specific solutions or information, making them highly engaged and receptive. Intriguingly, my data consistently shows that “squash recipes” are incredibly popular among Google users! Month after month, among my top five performing recipes, where the majority of traffic originates from organic Google searches, two are dedicated to spaghetti squash and one to butternut squash. This insight underscores the importance of not just creating great content, but also aligning it with what your audience is actively searching for. It also highlights the power of evergreen content – recipes that remain popular regardless of seasonal trends.

To further leverage this, I continue to refine my SEO strategy by:

**Keyword Research:** Identifying long-tail keywords and related terms that potential readers are using.
**Content Quality:** Ensuring each post offers comprehensive value, clear instructions, and visually appealing photography.
**On-Page SEO:** Optimizing title tags, meta descriptions, headings (H1, H2, H3), and image alt text with relevant keywords.
**Internal Linking:** Creating a robust internal link structure that guides readers and search engines through related content on my site.
**User Experience:** Ensuring fast load times, mobile responsiveness, and an intuitive site navigation.

This strategic approach to SEO not only boosts visibility but also attracts a highly targeted audience genuinely interested in my content.

January 2016 Income Report: Diverse Revenue Streams*

*Transparency note: Some of the links provided below are affiliate links. This means if you make a purchase through them, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Please be assured that all products and services listed are those I personally use, trust, and wholeheartedly recommend. Should you have any questions about any of these resources, please don’t hesitate to reach out via email.

My income for January 2016 reflects a growing diversity of revenue streams, a key strategy for long-term blogging sustainability:

Mediavine: $152.33
I joined this premium ad network approximately halfway through January. Even in this short period, it proved to be a significant contributor, highlighting the value of partnering with reputable ad management platforms that optimize ad placements for higher earnings and a better user experience.
Freelance Writing: $300
This income stems from writing assignments for other publications or brands, leveraging my expertise in food and blogging to generate additional revenue. Freelance work not only adds to my income but also expands my professional network and portfolio.
Sponsored Post: $150
This figure represents earnings from a collaboration with a brand, where I created dedicated content to promote their product or service. Sponsored posts are an excellent way to partner with brands I genuinely admire and integrate them seamlessly into my content.
Gourmet Ads: $89.47
Another ad network specializing in food-related content, Gourmet Ads provided a consistent stream of income by displaying relevant advertisements to my audience.
Food Blogger Pro: $65.80
This income is generated through affiliate commissions from a dedicated blog post I wrote, enthusiastically encouraging fellow bloggers to join Food Blogger Pro. It’s a platform I highly value for its comprehensive resources and training for food bloggers, making it easy to recommend.
Food Photography School: $29.70
Similar to Food Blogger Pro, this revenue comes from affiliate sales driven by a popular post I published offering essential tips and tricks for aspiring food photographers. My passion for food photography naturally leads me to recommend excellent resources in this niche.
Greater Than Gatsby: $26.24
These affiliate earnings are a result of several posts where I demonstrated how I achieve beautiful photo edits using Greater Than Gatsby Actions & Presets. This showcases how leveraging tools I use daily can also become a revenue stream.

*It’s important to clarify that this income report specifically excludes any earnings generated from my separate food photography business, focusing solely on blog-related revenue.

Total Income for January 2016: $813.54
This total represents a solid month of diverse monetization strategies beginning to pay off.

January 2016 Blog Expenses: Investing in Growth

Running a blog, much like any business, involves essential operational costs. These expenses are vital investments that support the blog’s functionality, growth, and overall quality:

WP Engine Hosting: $51
Premium hosting is crucial for blog performance, ensuring fast loading times, robust security, and reliable uptime, all of which contribute to a positive user experience and better SEO.
Giveaways: $35
Running giveaways is an excellent way to engage with the audience, show appreciation, and often help promote new content or products. It’s an investment in community building.
Food: $124.60
Currently, I meticulously track and expense only the food ingredients that are directly used and photographed for blog recipes. This doesn’t include ingredients for recipe testing that don’t make it to a published post, which helps in accurate cost accounting for content creation.
Facebook Ads: $19.99
Investing in targeted Facebook advertisements allows me to reach a wider audience, promote specific posts, and test different content strategies, all contributing to increased traffic and engagement.
Adobe Lightroom/ Photoshop: $10.91
These industry-standard tools are indispensable for professional-quality food photography and image editing, which is a cornerstone of a visually appealing food blog.

Total Expenses for January 2016: $251.50

Key Focus Areas in January: Strategic Growth Initiatives

January was a month of concentrated effort, focusing on specific strategies designed to accelerate blog growth and optimize performance:

Pinterest: A Deep Dive into Strategic Pinning for Audience Growth

In January, I made a deliberate decision to concentrate my social media efforts on a single platform: Pinterest. While I genuinely enjoy engaging on Instagram and Snapchat, my analytics consistently show that investing time and energy into Pinterest yields the most significant returns in terms of traffic and audience growth. I dedicated several days to thoroughly researching and understanding best practices for authentic follower acquisition, optimal posting times, and effective content strategies on Pinterest.

Before detailing my methods, let’s examine the remarkable growth in my Pinterest followers during this experimental period:

January 4: 950 followers (Start of the experiment)
January 6: 987 followers
January 11: 1,138 followers
January 15: 1,555 followers
January 18: 1,811 followers
January 25: 2,135 followers
February 1: 2,344 followers
February 18: 2,796 followers

In a span of just six weeks, I successfully increased my follower count by an astounding 1,846, which translates to a phenomenal 294% increase! This exponential growth trajectory is incredibly encouraging. If I could sustain this impressive rate, I project reaching approximately 17,000 followers by the end of 2017, dramatically expanding my reach and potential traffic from the platform.

So, what specific actions fueled this growth? The core strategy was surprisingly simple yet highly effective: aggressive and consistent pinning. For the initial two weeks, I was like a “pinning machine,” consistently sharing around 200-300 pins per day. While this intensive pace was highly effective, I recognize it’s not a sustainable long-term strategy. Since then, I’ve adjusted to a more manageable yet still diligent rhythm of approximately 50 pins per day. Here are a couple of fundamental rules I adhered to:

Strategic Timing: I made sure to pin throughout the day to capture different audience segments, but with a particular emphasis on evening hours, typically between 8 PM and 12 AM, when my target audience is most active.
Board Diversity: I aimed to pin at least one pin to each of my relevant boards every single day, ensuring continuous engagement across my content categories.

An interesting observation I made was that I seemed to gain followers more rapidly when I focused intensely on one specific topic or board at a time. On certain days, I would select a particular board and dedicate a single session to pinning 20-50 related pins to it. While I haven’t scientifically verified this, I consistently noticed a significant spike in follower growth on the days I adopted this hyper-focused approach.

Beyond the volume of pinning, I also undertook a comprehensive cleanup and optimization of all my Pinterest boards. This involved several key steps:

Clarity and Searchability: I meticulously ensured that every board had a clear, descriptive, and searchable title, along with a rich, keyword-optimized description. I also verified that each board was accurately categorized, improving discoverability.
Organization and Expansion: I pruned a few rarely used boards to streamline my profile and strategically added several new boards to better organize my content and cater to niche interests within my audience.
Group Board Management: To efficiently manage my contributions to various group boards – a powerful tool for extending reach – I created a simple spreadsheet. This helped me track pinning schedules and ensure consistent engagement without oversaturating any single board.

These combined efforts transformed my Pinterest strategy from casual sharing to a highly effective, data-driven engine for traffic and audience expansion.

Posting Consistently: Building Trust and Authority

One of my primary overarching goals for 2016 was to establish and rigorously adhere to a consistent content posting schedule. Predictability is a powerful tool for bloggers; it builds audience expectation, fosters loyalty, and signals to search engines that your site is actively maintained and regularly updated with fresh content. I’m incredibly proud to report that I consistently published new content on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays throughout January, resulting in a total of 15 new posts for the month. This achievement represents a significant personal and professional milestone. I’m also pleased to confirm that I’ve successfully maintained this consistent posting schedule well into February.

Reaching Out to Brands: Strategic Partnerships for Growth

Another key objective for 2016 is to forge more meaningful partnerships with brands that I genuinely love, use, and advocate for in my daily life. Initiating this outreach process was a significant focus in January. While I haven’t secured a massive number of direct collaborations just yet, I have successfully joined several reputable influencer networks. These platforms specialize in connecting bloggers and content creators with relevant brands for potential campaigns. Through these networks, I’ve already been accepted to participate in some promising and exciting brand campaigns, laying a strong foundation for future collaborations and diversifying my income streams.

Next 30 Days: The Ebook Launch & Email List Growth

Looking ahead, my immediate focus for the next 30 days is squarely on the development and launch of an exciting new ebook. This ebook will be offered completely FREE to my readers as an exclusive incentive for signing up for my email newsletter. I’ve already meticulously drafted a comprehensive plan for its creation and promotion, and a significant portion of the content is already complete. I’m genuinely thrilled about the quality and value packed into this book and believe it will be an invaluable resource for my audience!

Recognizing the importance of professional presentation, I’ve made the strategic decision to invest in a professional designer to bring the ebook’s visuals to life. Fortunately, I have a talented friend who is an incredible designer, which makes this collaboration all the more exciting. My aim is to have this ebook fully designed, launched, and integrated into my email subscription process within the next month, significantly enhancing my email list growth strategy and providing immense value to my loyal readers.

A Heartfelt Thank You: Giving Back to the Community

Finally, I want to extend my deepest gratitude to each and every one of you who visits my blog. Your readership and support are not just numbers; they translate into tangible opportunities for positive impact. Thanks to your continued engagement, I was able to sponsor a young girl in Haiti this month, a commitment I plan to uphold for many months to come. My ongoing pledge is to donate 10% of all earnings generated from my blog to charitable causes. I am incredibly thankful for this opportunity to give back, even if it’s just a little for now. It’s a reminder that blogging isn’t just about personal growth and income, but also about leveraging that success to make a difference in the world.